1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to retractable awnings and more particularly to an automated or powered retractable awning that will extend and retract under its own power.
2. Description of the Relevant Art
Retractable awnings have been in use for many years, with early uses being primarily as covers for windows, doors and the like. More recently, retractable awnings have been designed for use on mobile structures such as recreational vehicles and mobile homes, and, accordingly, out of necessity, the awnings have needed to include more sophisticated systems of operation and for retaining the awnings in either retracted or extended positions. Further, awnings for recreational vehicles and mobile homes are fairly long so as to extend along a substantial portion of the side of the vehicle, and, accordingly, they are relatively heavy and are sometimes difficult to manipulate.
Typically, a retractable awning includes an awning sheet that is secured along one edge to the side of the recreational vehicle or the like, with the opposite edge being secured to a roll bar about which the awning sheet can be wrapped. The roll bar is rotatably supported at opposite ends by support arms which are typically telescoping in nature and have an inner end affixed to the side wall of the vehicle at a location beneath the connection of the awning sheet to the vehicle. Rafters are also normally provided which extend from the roll bar to a location on the side of the vehicle adjacent to the connection of the awning sheet to the vehicle, with the rafters typically being used to retain the awning sheet in a taut condition. The awning is moved from a retracted position adjacent to the side of the vehicle to an extended position by allowing the support arms to pivot about their connection to the side of the vehicle thereby allowing the awning sheet to unroll from the roll bar. After the awning sheet has been fully extended, the rafters are locked in position to retain a taut condition of the awning sheet, and subsequently, the support arms are telescopically extended causing the roll bar to move upwardly to a desired elevation.
The extension of the support arms has traditionally been difficult due to the heavy weight of the awning structure. The problem is compounded by the fact that many recreational vehicles are owned and operated by elderly individuals who do not always have the strength of younger individuals, and many times the elderly have some difficulty in extending the awning to a desired elevation.
It will be appreciated from the above that, while awnings are desirable not only in the recreational vehicle and mobile home industry but also in permanent residences, they have traditionally been difficult to operate thereby discouraging use of the awning. Automated awnings have, therefore, been desirable and attempts to develop a reliable automatic awning have, therefore, been made.
It is to overcome shortcomings in manually operated retractable awnings and to provide a dependable automatic awning that the present invention has been developed.
The retractable awning of the present invention, like most retractable awnings of its type, has a flexible awning sheet or canopy that is secured along one edge to a support structure, such as a recreational vehicle, mobile home, permanent residence, or the like. The opposite edge of the awning sheet is secured to a roll bar. When the awning is moved from an extended to a retracted position, the awning sheet is wrapped around the roll bar and, of course, when the awning is moved from a retracted position to the extended position the awning sheet is unwrapped from the roll bar. The roll bar is rotatably supported at the outer ends of a pair of extendable support arms which are pivotally anchored at an inner end to the support surface at a relatively low location on the support surface. When the awning is retracted, the support arms and the roll bar that is supported thereby are positioned immediately adjacent to the support surface but as the awning is extended, the upper ends of the support arms are allowed to pivot or swing away from the support surface thereby moving the roll bar therewith and extending the awning sheet as it is unwrapped from the roll bar.
A rafter arm is associated with each support arm and has an inner end pivotally connected to the support surface at a relatively high location on the support surface, with the other end of the rafter arm being pivotally and operably connected to the outer end of the support arm adjacent to the connection of the roll bar to the support arm. The roll bar contains a drive shaft and the drive shaft supports on one end thereof a reversible drive motor which rotates the drive shaft in one direction or another depending upon its selective direction of energization. In other words, when the motor is energized to rotate the drive shaft in one direction, it allows the awning sheet to be unwrapped from the roll bar while, when it is energized to rotate the drive shaft in the opposite direction, it effects a wrapping of the awning sheet about the roll bar.
The support arm and rafter arm at one end of the roll bar are identical to the support arm and rafter arm at the opposite end of the roll bar, with the support arm including inner and outer support arm sections which are slidably and telescopically interconnected so that the length of the support arm can vary as the awning is extended or retracted. The rafter arm similarly has an inner section and an outer section, but the inner and outer sections, while being nestable relative to each other in a retracted position, are pivotally interconnected at one end, with the opposite ends being connected to the support surface and support arm respectively. Accordingly, as the awning is moved from a retracted to an extended position, the rafter arms unfold from nested positions to extended positions wherein the inner and outer segments are substantially longitudinally aligned and when the awning is retracted, the inner and outer sections fold or pivot about their pivotal connection until the inner and outer sections are nested one within the other.
A lock arm operably connects each rafter arm to an associated support arm adjacent the outer ends of the rafter arm and support arm and serves as a brace between the associated support and rafter arms when the awning is extended.
At each end of the drive shaft adjacent to the opposite ends of the roll bar and in alignment with an associated support arm, a drive spool supports a flexible extension belt, which might be nylon webbing, substantially inextensible rubber, or the like. The drive belt extends along the length of the outer section of the support arm toward the inner end of the outer section of the support arm where it is extended around an idler spool which allows the direction of the belt to be reversed. After passing around the idler spool, a free end of the extension belt is anchored to an outer end of the inner support arm segment. The extension belt is adapted to be wrapped around the drive spool or unwrapped therefrom as the awning is moved between retracted and extended positions and actually partially affects the extension and retraction of the awning. When the awning is retracted, each support arm is also retracted into its minimum length, with the outer support arm segment being telescopically received within the inner segment. When the extension belt is fully unwrapped from the drive spool, it substantially extends from one end of the shortened support arm to the other. When the drive spool is rotated by the motor in a direction to wrap the extension belt around the drive spool, the effective length of the belt is shortened as it extends along the support arm thereby pulling the outer segment of the support arm axially and outwardly along the inner segment so that the overlap of the inner and outer segments is reduced and the overall length of the support arm is increased. Of course, as the length of the support arm is increased, and the awning sheet is unrolled from the roll bar, which is happening simultaneously, the roll bar swings or pivots away from the support surface and when doing so, simultaneously unfolds the rafter arms. Energization of the drive motor on the roll bar thereby causes the awning to extend or retract and when the support arms are fully extended or retracted and the awning sheet is fully unwrapped from or wrapped onto the roll bar, respectively, an overload switch on the electric motor de-energizes the motor.
The lock arm, which operably interconnects each rafter arm with its associated support arm, serves to retain the rafter arm in a fully extended position and prevents the rafter arm from collapsing or pivoting about the pivotal connection between the inner and outer rafter arm sections by forming a brace between the support arm and the rafter arm. A slide member, which is secured to the extension belt at a preselected location, actually engages one end of the lock arm immediately prior to the awning being fully extended and forces that end of the lock arm to slide a short distance along the length of the support arm and in doing so causes the opposite end of the lock arm to force the rafter arm upwardly until the inner and outer rafter arm sections are substantially longitudinally aligned. A stop member at the pivotal connection between the inner and outer rafter arm sections in one embodiment actually prevents a perfect alignment of the rafter arms and thereby prevents an over-centered relationship of the two rafter arms so that when the awning is retracted the rafter arms automatically collapse in a downward and desired direction. When the awning is to be retracted, the motor is energized to rotate the drive shaft in an opposite direction which causes the awning sheet to be wrapped around the roll bar and causes the extension belt to unwind from the drive spool, which moves the slide member away from the associated end of the lock arm, thereby allowing the rafter arm to collapse in a downward direction. Also, as the extension belt is unwound from the drive spool, the inward swinging movement of the roll bar causes the inner and outer sections of the support arms to telescopically collapse thereby shortening the effective length of the support arms. Once the awning is fully retracted with the roll bar and support arms immediately adjacent to the support surface, the overload switch on the electric motor de-energizes the motor to prevent further rotation of the roll bar.
It can thereby be seen that simply through energization of the motor in one direction or another, the awning is caused to be extended or retracted as desired and without manual assistance thereby providing an awning that is easy to operate through manipulation of an electrical switch.
In one embodiment of the awning, another electrical switch detects movement of the awning when it is extended, which might be caused by inclement weather, and energizes the electric motor to automatically retract the awning to avoid damage to the awning which might otherwise be caused by the inclement weather.
Other aspects, features and details of the present invention can be more completely understood by reference to the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment, taken in conjunction with the drawings and from the appended claims.